When walking down a path in the dark of the night, we search for light so that we might see the path before us so as to avoid the pitfalls and the dangers which surround us. The same is true of the soul. Without light to guide us, we easily become lost to the point of despair. We stumble along the path and we may easily fall. Just as darkness is the absence of light in the world, evil is the absence of righteousness. Where can we find light for our soul to journey along the path of life? Just as in the beginning, "3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1; He commands light to shine into the hearts of man, so they might see out of darkness to grasp the truth of the Gospel.
2 Corinthians 4:
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
In the midst of darkness we are drawn toward the light. Though that light might appear dim at first, we search for it and are drawn toward it. Christ is the light of the world, the only hope to dispel evil with His own righteousness. He paid the price for our sins so that we might have a relationship with pure righteousness, found only in God. Yet, some prefer to remain in darkness where they desire to believe that of their own self they can create their own light. But, alas, how can darkness produce light without an outward source of light entering in to dispel the darkness? Can a candle produce light were it not lite?
Carrying around an unlit candle will never produce the light that we need to see in the darkness. Carrying around all the knowledge which we might gain in this world can never produce the light we need to see in this world, unless we see the "the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" as our only means to light the candle of our life. Believing in Jesus Christ is our only means of salvation and our only means of shedding the light of God which is filled with hope, joy, and love into our empty darkened hearts. We have a choice here. We can either believe in Jesus Christ or we can reject Him. Our condemnation is our own choice when we reject the only means of atonement which God at such a great price provided.
John 3: 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Through our eyes we read, we watch TV, we see the beauty around us, and we see the evil as well. Christians and unbelievers both choose what knowledge is entering our hearts by choosing what we look upon and what we seek. That is why Christ said,
Luke 11: 34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
Do you want light to shine upon your path that you might see the world around you clearly? Are the eyes of your heart focused only upon the Word which is Jesus Christ? Do you seek and savor Him above all else? Can you for a moment turn off the TV and the secular books to feed upon the word of God? Is He your greatest treasure? Then, choose Him, and every step of your life will become clear. It is only then that the radiance of His light will reflect around you as you emptied of self become a mirror reflecting that light out into a world of darkness. Let me share with you this quote from Jonathan Edwards.
“Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from divine light shining into the soul. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and this only, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conforms the heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition against the scheme of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart to embrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiesce in the revelation of Christ as our Savior.”
― Jonathan Edwards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aEhXBEUnZU